It is an ongoing debate that has been given a lot of steam in the past few years–Is a liberal arts degree worth it?

Back in the ancient times, the liberal arts included subjects that were thought to be ”essential for a free citizen to study.” Today, the term has grown into an education that imparts general knowledge that includes literature, language, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and even science.

When all of the jobs are scarce and the college tuition is sky-high, it is definitely worth talking about. While the liberal arts are very valuable, are they as valuable as specialized?
Here are four reasons why having a liberal arts degree can help your career.

It Stirs the Conversation:
In a very recent Business Today article, Going Liberal on Wall Street, ”One of the major pluses of a non-technical education is the emphasis on inter-personal skills. Students in liberal art take courses in diverse fields like History, Political Science and English. It enables them to engage in meaningful conversation on a variety of social, economic and political issues.”

It Opens Your Mind:
When studying one of the various fields of studies in the college of liberal arts, students have the opportunity to further expand of their knowledge. Major areas of the liberal arts include: mathematics, science, arts, language and history.
Many of the universities also require students to take ”general education courses” which typically are spread among the different categories within liberal arts. This allows students to get a well-rounded education instead of spending all of their college rules on only one specific subject.

It’s Employable:
A very important thing to remember is if you have a Bachelor of Arts it doesn’t mean you won’t find a job. There are some positives and some negatives to any field of study and the pros definitely outweigh the cons for the liberal arts.
While there are quite a few sectors that directly pull from the liberal arts, many companies prefer their entry-level employees to have a blank slate and will train on them on the job.

It Has a History:
There are very many famous leaders who have received a B.A., here are a few examples:

• Henry ”Hank” Paulson, 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury and former CEO & Chairman of Golden Sachs, had graduated with an English degree from Dartmouth College.
• Steve Wynn, who is an American entrepreneur, is best known for the Wynn and Encore resorts in Las Vegas, he also graduated with a degree in English literature.
• Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and George W. Bush all graduated with various types of degrees in history.

So, it does not matter what type of degree that you get, just what you do with it. Picking up the right internships and experiences early on can help you to shape and focus a career path.